1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to configuration of a communication device for communication via a data network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A communication system is a facility which enables communication between two or more entities such as user terminal equipment (mobile or fixed) or other communication device and/or network entities and other nodes associated with a communication system. The communication may comprise, for example, communication of voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, data, multimedia and so on.
A communication system typically operates in accordance with a given standard or with a given set of specifications which set out what the various elements of a system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. For example, the standard or specification may define if the user, or more precisely user equipment, is provided with a circuit switched bearer or a packet switched bearer, or both. Communication protocols and/or parameters which should be used for the connection are also typically defined. For example, the manner in which communication should be implemented between the user equipment and the elements of the communication networks is typically based on a predefined communication protocol. In other words, a specific set of “rules” on which the communication can be based needs to be defined to enable the user equipment to communicate via the communication system.
The communication may be provided by a fixed line and/or wireless communication interface. An example of communication systems providing wireless communication are public land mobile networks (PLMN). Other examples include various wireless local area networks (WLANs) and satellite based systems. Examples of communication systems providing fixed line communications include public switched telephone networks (PSTN), cable networks, digital subscriber line (DSL) networks, and so on.
Communication systems providing wireless communication for user equipment enable at least some degree of mobility for the users thereof. More advanced mobility support can typically be added as an enhanced feature. An example of a wireless system is the public land mobile network (PLMN). PLMNs are commonly based on cellular technology. In cellular systems, a base transceiver station (BTS) or similar access entity services mobile communication device or user equipment (UE) via a wireless interface between these entities. The communication on the wireless interface between the user equipment and elements of the communication network can be based on an appropriate communication protocol. The operation of the base station apparatus and other apparatus required for the communication can be controlled by one or several control entities. The various control entities may be interconnected. One or more gateway nodes may be provided for connecting the cellular access network to other networks, for example to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) and/or other communication networks such as an IP (Internet Protocol) and/or other packet switched data networks. In such arrangements, the mobile communications network provides an access network enabling a user with wireless user equipment to access external networks, hosts, or services offered by specific service providers.
In a packet data network, a packet data carrier or bearer may be established to carry traffic flows over the network. An example of such a packet data carrier is a packet data protocol (PDP) context.
So called third generation (3G) communication systems are being introduced. These so called third generation systems use code division multiple access techniques. Example of third generation communication systems include system operating in accordance with specifications by a third generation partnership project (3GPP) or by third generation partnership project 2 (3GPP2).
Cellular packet data networks can be integrated with other wireless network systems such as WLAN. The integration may offer features such as common authentication, common billing, common services, and mobility across the access networks. Mobility across the access networks may be enabled through the use of an appropriate protocol, for example the mobile Internet Protocol (mobile IP).
An important feature of the mobile IP is that a communication device, commonly referred to as a mobile node (MN) may communicate via and move across visited networks, while still being reachable through its home IP address. The home IP address associates the communication device with its home network. While the mobile device resides away from its home network, a home agent tunnels IP packets of the mobile device to and from the mobile device. The home agent can be provided by a router agent.
With the introduction of the mobile IP, a care-of address that the communication device obtains from the visited network is hidden from protocol layers that are above the Mobile IP protocol layer. Mobile IP version 4 (IPv4) specification includes two main modes of operation: co-located care-of address mode, wherein the mobile device performs tunnelling/de-tunnelling operations and a second mode wherein a Foreign Agent entity in the visited network performs tunnelling/de-tunnelling operations on behalf of the mobile device. Mobile IP version 6 (IPv6) only supports the co-located care-of address mode. Mobile devices need to be configured with a home Internet Protocol (IP) address and a home agent IP address before they can make use of mobile IP functionality.
In the 3rd generation cellular network specifications by 3GPP a mobile device may connect to a 3GPP-WLAN multi-access network by setting up a PDP context through the GPRS network, or by setting up an IPsec tunnel through a WLAN network. When setting up a data carrier such as a PDP context the mobile device is assigned with an IP address during the PDP context activation procedure. When setting up an IPsec tunnel through a WLAN network, the mobile device is assigned an IP address by a network node, for example a Packet Data Gateway (PDG), during the signaling phase, for example during IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange version 2) signalling. If an inter-access device-mobility solution based on Mobile IP is overlaid on top of this architecture, these addresses will represent Mobile IP care-of addresses. In order to operate, however, the Mobile IP client needs to be also configured with a Home Agent IP address and a Home IP Address. In 3rd generation cellular network specifications by 3GPP2 a mobile device may connect to a 3GPP2-WLAN multi-access network by setting up a Point-to-Point protocol (PPP) connection through a CDMA2000 packet data network, or by setting up an IPsec tunnel through a WLAN network. When setting up a data carrier such as a PPP connection the mobile device is assigned with an Internet Protocol (IP) address. When setting up an IPsec tunnel through a WLAN network, the mobile device is assigned an IP address by a network node, for example a Packet Data Interworking Function (PDIF), during the signaling phase, for example during IKEv2 (Internet Key Exchange version 2) signalling. If an inter-access device-mobility solution based on mobile IP is overlaid on top of this architecture, these addresses will represent mobile IP care-of addresses. In order to operate, however, the mobile IP client may also need to be configured with parameters such as a Home Agent IP address and a Home IP Address.
In practical systems, it might also be required that these parameters can be set up dynamically at a communication device, such as a mobile user equipment. However, current specifications for dynamic configuration of home agent address and/or dynamic assignment of home address require the use of a Foreign Agent in the visited network. It is an aim of embodiments of the present invention to define mechanisms for dynamic configuration of mobile IPv4 and mobile IPv6 parameters without requiring the assistance of a Foreign Agent.